Main Street Monday — Amazon Tops $1 Billion in Small Business Lending in Past 12 Months

June 19, 2017

By Bob Coleman
Editor, Main Street Monday

Main Street Monday — Amazon Tops $1 Billion in Small Business Lending in Past 12 Months

“We created Amazon Lending to make it simple for up-and-coming small businesses to efficiently get a business loan, because we know that an infusion of capital at the right moment can put a small business on the path to even greater success,” says Peeyush Nahar, Vice President for Amazon Marketplace. “Small businesses are in our DNA. Amazon is providing capital to small businesses to help them expand inventory and operations at a critical period of their growth. We understand that a small loan can go a long way.”

Facts about Amazon Lending:

In the last 12 months, Amazon has lent more than $1 billion to small businesses.

More than 20,000 small businesses have received a loan from Amazon.

More than 50 percent of the small businesses Amazon lends to take a second loan from Amazon.

Amazon has issued loans to small businesses across the U.S., U.K., and Japan.

Invited small businesses are able to apply for loans ranging from $1,000 to $750,000.

Half of the items sold on Amazon worldwide are from small businesses that offer their products through Amazon Marketplace, many of whom also choose to use Fulfillment by Amazon as a way of making their items Prime eligible. Small businesses and entrepreneurs selling on Amazon come from every state in the U.S., and from more than 130 different countries around the world. Amazon began inviting small businesses to sell on Amazon to increase selection and ensure customers could find and discover anything they wanted to buy online.

“Amazon has had a hugely positive impact on our business,” says Caleb Light, Vice President of Sales for Power Practical, in Salt Lake City, Utah. “Traditional funding vehicles wouldn’t support our model of direct to consumer and we needed help. Amazon stepped in and is a great partner for us. The loans from Amazon Lending enabled us to expand inventory and resulted in us having a very strong and successful 2016.”

“Customers expect to be able to buy LonoLife on Amazon. The loan from Amazon Lending gave LonoLife the ability to procure bulk raw materials and packaging to build inventory to keep up with incredible customer demand,” says Lawrence Holland, President of LonoLife Inc., based in Oceanside, Calif. “Amazon’s willingness to provide LonoLife capital ensured that we are able to keep our products in stock and gave us the opportunity to grow our product offering.”

Amazon Lending surpassed $3 billion in loans to small businesses to date since the program launched in 2011.